Category: Assigments

I had some great plans for my virtual symposium but struggled with getting things done in time. I figured I could finish things up tonight- but a family emergency came up and I was not able to get home until just a short while ago.

So I decided upon my backup plan- a 5 in 5.  I chose 5 things that really stood out to me the most and discussed them on 5 slides, in 5 minutes.

Want to see?  Here you go: 5 in 5

Please note, I feel self conscious about my voice. I am fighting a cold and have some other speechy things that I notice but no one else probably does.  And I just  had to re-record because my mic didn’t work the first time- but the link is working now.

I’m making a quick edit to add a transcript of my video.

Thanks for being part of a wonderful class all.  Hope to see you around somewhere.

Instagram

Feel free to say hello.

One of the modules that stuck with me the most was the Power of Storytelling.  I’ve already blogged about StoryCorps so was bouncing ideas off my teenager who ended up inspiring my project.

She is a freshman at the high school where I work. She is also a cheerleader and a few weeks ago the cheer team and senior football players visited two of the assisted living facilities in our city.  She reminded me of this- and suggested I discuss a program that could build upon that visit.

This was a lightbulb moment and I started researching and writing about intergenerational storytelling. I loved connecting people that have something in common to help them to open up and to share their stories.

Inspiration Report- Intergenerational Storytelling

I struggled with finding a topic for this assignment for some reason- but I have found myself feeling inspired by the idea of students taking more ownership of the library space and giving them the opportunity to do something interesting with it.

For background information- I am a library assistant in a public high school.  We have about 700ish students and at this time the library is not being used as it should (personal thoughts of course) be used.  It is used as a study hall, or a space for lunch, or for kids who are supposed to be somewhere else, or the occasional class visit.  I would love to pull more kids into the library in some way but don’t have any real say in what could happen at this time.

So I thought we could use a space in our library as a podcast studio. This could be for library purposes- book reviews and the like, or assignments from classes, or just for fun.

Here is my action brief- I would love to hear your thoughts.

NHS Podcast Studio

What are libraries to you? Libraries are not just warehouses for books but are important parts of the community. They provide access to information and different types of resources, they build community, promote literacy, and protect our right to read what we choose. 

Libraries are always being challenged with finding the right ways to meet the needs of their community members while facing budget cuts, staffing issues, or other challenges.

Now imagine being able to go up to the library at any time that you want. You go up to that front door and flash your library card under the scanner. The doors open, and the library is all yours.  What a dream, right?

Some libraries are using this concept to ensure that people get their needs met. In some areas, self-service libraries give access to those who need it such as people who work odd hours or those who live in areas that for some reason just doesn’t have a library.

Self-service libraries can be libraries that permit access to their buildings outside normal hours.  Express library branches are non-staffed library spaces.  In these locations a patron would scan their library card to get access to a location that has wi-fi, computers, books, and other resources determined to be needed by that community.

Libraries such as this work best when they are planned with the needs of the community in mind. Michael Casey said that ““ The community should be involved in the brainstorming for new ideas and services, they should play a role in planning for those services, and they should definitely be involved in the evaluation and review process.”

One fantastic example of an express branch that was fully designed with the community in mind is the Monterey Park express branch in Mesa az. This location was build with input from the community and in connection with several city departments including the Parks and Rec department and the school district.  This location has books, activities for kids, seating areas, a video kiosk to connect to a live librarian, and it even has an augmented reality assistant named Veronica  offering assistance to patrons. Outside the library is a playground, baseball field, tennis courts, and other community services.  

Libraries should consider looking into these types of options when faced with budget cuts or when they discover more need for information in their communities.  Yes, we have access to electronic items, but at times what is needed is the building itself.